Florida State vs. UNC
This is one of those games that few outside the ACC are paying attention to, but those in North Carolina and Florida are looking at very seriously.
Two teams that were thought to be in the mix for the ACC crown, but to this point have been very disappointing. UNC was 8-5 last year, and Florida State was 9-4, so you assume that these two teams would have much to say about playing in that ACC Championship.
Not exactly.
Both teams are at the bottom of their division; neither team has a conference win yet, collectively 0-5 and yet their records are reversed. While UNC is at least 4-2, Florida State is the inverse, at 2-4.
Florida State needs this win for every reason known to man. A coach being forced to quit, the team struggling to win games, and the need to restore some pride to the Seminole nation. But get this, of the last 8 losses, extending to last year, SIX of them come from their own home. Imagine that, not winning in your own house!
Last year they lost home games to Wake Forest by 9, Boston College by 10 and to Florida by 30. That’s three of their 4 losses last year. This year they lose at home to Miami by 4, South Florida by 10, and Georgia Tech by 5. Outside of the Florida loss last year, Florida State has not lost by much, by usually one possession.
So this could just as well be a team that is winning more than they are losing, but why do I think that maybe familiarity is the Seminole’s problem? Sometimes you spend too much time playing in front of Florida fans that you forget that you are a target to everybody else. Maybe Florida State is too comfortable at home, and NEEDS to get out of the state and play. Hey, it worked against BYU didn’t it?
And correct me if I am wrong…aren’t they playing AT UNC tonight?
On the other end, UNC has a decent record, but it still isn’t proving a thing. Last year their 8-5 record seemed nice, with wins over Connecticut, Notre Dame and Rutgers. But they were not consistent in their conference, losing games to Maryland, NC State and even Duke…back to back to back!
This year that 4-2 record looks cute, but beating Citadel, ECU and Georgia Southern is hardly impressive at all. They do have a decent win over Connecticut, but the Huskies have been a mid-card team in the Big East (prayers to their lost player).
The schedule gets much tougher for UNC, and they have only beaten Florida State once in their history. With upcoming games vs. Virginia Tech, Miami, Boston College and rival NC State, UNC really, REALLY needs this win to hope for a bowl. If they lose this game to Florida State, they could struggle to get those 6 wins needed to go to a bowl.
This is going to be a hard game to call, because I personally think Florida State is much better than they have shown. Mind you, FSU has played 5 teams that have been, or currently ranked…that is a tough schedule. UNC played only one…and lost. I think Florida State plays better outside of the state, because they don’t have the distractions of the expectations of playing in a historically great program. Perhaps they need this game to get out and, oddly enough, relax.
But UNC has some quality wins with them from last year. At home they did beat Connecticut, Notre Dame, Boston College and Georgia Tech. Something has to give.
I am a UNC fan at heart, but I still think FSU has what it takes to win, and with their backs against the wall, I think they will perform. This may not be the team that crushed BYU, but it won’t be the team that barely beat Jacksonville State…which by the way was another Florida game.
Perhaps FSU ought to consider playing all their games outside the state of Florida… if they win tonight, expect some radical changes in their schedules (smile). I think Florida State wins by 6 points.
Showing posts with label UNC Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UNC Football. Show all posts
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Monday, December 15, 2008
UNC vs West Virginia in Car Care Bowl
Meineke Car Care Bowl
West Virginia vs. UNC
So it seems that West Virginia has to return to the state where they were embarrassed earlier this year…
Two teams with identical records, both 8-4. One team was destined for greatness this year, but fell short, another team snuck up on their conference, only to fall at the end.
This is actually a pretty good matchup that makes sense on several levels. Because this bowl takes place in Charlotte, NC, it makes it super-easy to invite an ACC team since all four teams qualified for a bowl (Wake Forest, NC State, UNC and ….oops…not Duke).
But it also makes some sense for West Virginia, since they have actually been in the state earlier this year, losing to ECU. So a return trip isn’t so bad, and not so far away for the Mountaineers.
So as they say in boxing, let’s look at the “Tale of the tape”
West Virginia comes in with great expectations, but losing a great running back. How would they start the season, being a team that could possibly make a major BCS bowl, or dare we say, the National Championship?
The win over Villanova 48-21 was the usual “tune up” and it was expected that the next couple of games would be the same…but not quite.
A stunning loss in Greenville to upstart (and eventual Conference USA Champs) East Carolina crippled their National Title hopes very early…and a second loss to Colorado destroyed any hope of it at all.
Now 1-2, this looked like a team in turmoil and disarray. Unless West Virginia find a way to get their team back on track, there was no hope of even fighting for a conference title and that coveted BCS Bowl birth. Already there were words spoken of how soft the Big East was, as well as the ACC…some had mentioned the desire to leave out such teams if they cannot keep a team in the top 10...
(foolish words, most spoken by even smaller conferences who happened to have a team ranked high off very weak schedules….)
But West Virginia began to pull it together, beating Marshall (what happened to THAT team) and the third win of the year over struggling Rutgers. It would appear that their wins and losses corresponded to their away and home games. They lost to Colorado and ECU away, and all other games were at home. Perhaps that trend will continue…
Wins over Syracuse and Auburn (incidentally both teams ended up getting rid of their coaches) pulled the West Virginia record to 5-2. But they needed to validate this new direction of winning by beating a quality team…away from home.
That win came when they defeated Connecticut 35-13, as the Huskies were currently ranked at the time. This was a signature win, and at 6-2 the Mountaineers were flying high…
Until they lost to Cincinnati, at home, in overtime, 26-23.
West Virginia managed to split the next two away games, beating suffering Louisville and losing to ranked Pittsburgh, before ending the season with a win over South Florida, at home 13-7.
Of the four losses, the one to Colorado is not well tolerated, but losing to ECU (Conference USA Champs), Cincinnati (Big East Champs) and Pittsburgh, are very quality losses…if you have to lose. Six teams will be in a bowl off this schedule, and West Virginia beat half of them.
The Tarheels of UNC won’t have to travel so far to get to Charlotte, and come in bringing an impressive 8-4 record, although it seemed they choked down the stretch.
( I say this being a Tarheel fan…)
The ACC was perhaps the MOST complex conference in Division I. Many claim it was “soft” but that isn’t true, there were numerous great teams. I am not saying they are the best, because they are not, but from top to bottom, they had more to offer than any other conference.
UNC started out strong, beating McNeese State, although barely, and then got a surprising win vs. Rutgers on ESPN…BIG. A 44-12 beat down set the Big East back a few years with that embarrassing loss. So now things were looking good for UNC with Virginia Tech coming off an embarrassing loss to ECU, surely they can run the record to 3-0?
Nope. Back to earth with a 20-17 loss, although it was a great game.
Now 2-1, some thought this might be a good year for the Tarheels, and a big win AT Miami was the beginning of three straight wins. And at the moment, UNC had 2 conference wins, which is always good.
But it wasn’t until UNC knocked off UCONN while they were ranked that had people looking at Chapel Hill as a possible power in the ACC this year. And when they beat storied Notre Dame, there was some national attention placed on the Tarheels. No, this was not a BCS Championship team, but hey, a BCS Bowl??
It was expected that UNC would win at Virginia because the Cavaliers were having such a bad year… but that’s why you have to play every game. In over time UNC lost to Virginia 16-13, and brought the team back to earth again, and reminding them that they were not going to sweep the ACC schedule.
But this team was not about to fold the tents, there was a conference they could win, and they wanted it. Two great wins over Boston College and then ranked Georgia Tech had UNC the talk of the ACC with a 7-2 record, but both losses coming from their conference.
Already qualified for a bowl, perhaps the team got overconfident when they traveled to Maryland, and lost 17-15. But surely they would be able to beat lowly NC State, a team that needed to win all their remaining games just to qualify for a bowl…
But alas, the Wolfpack crushed UNC in their own house, 41-10. Something was going on with the mindset of the Tarheels, and it seemed that once they secured post season, they relaxed. This was NOT the way to finish a season, and they had to get it together against Duke…I mean, surely they can beat Duke..
Even at Duke this should have been an easier game, but UNC wins only by 8 points, and limps into post season against West Virginia.
NINE of the 12 teams on UNC’s schedule will be in a bowl, a very strong schedule. But is this team “burned out”? To be sure, they overachieved, and West Virginia may have underachieved; will we see the balance of that in this bowl game?
This is a very good game to watch, and I think West Virginia has an advantage, being a more veteran team with a great quarterback. But West Virginia has already tasted defeat in the state, and UNC is practically home…how will this play out…
West Virginia vs. UNC
So it seems that West Virginia has to return to the state where they were embarrassed earlier this year…
Two teams with identical records, both 8-4. One team was destined for greatness this year, but fell short, another team snuck up on their conference, only to fall at the end.
This is actually a pretty good matchup that makes sense on several levels. Because this bowl takes place in Charlotte, NC, it makes it super-easy to invite an ACC team since all four teams qualified for a bowl (Wake Forest, NC State, UNC and ….oops…not Duke).
But it also makes some sense for West Virginia, since they have actually been in the state earlier this year, losing to ECU. So a return trip isn’t so bad, and not so far away for the Mountaineers.
So as they say in boxing, let’s look at the “Tale of the tape”
West Virginia comes in with great expectations, but losing a great running back. How would they start the season, being a team that could possibly make a major BCS bowl, or dare we say, the National Championship?
The win over Villanova 48-21 was the usual “tune up” and it was expected that the next couple of games would be the same…but not quite.
A stunning loss in Greenville to upstart (and eventual Conference USA Champs) East Carolina crippled their National Title hopes very early…and a second loss to Colorado destroyed any hope of it at all.
Now 1-2, this looked like a team in turmoil and disarray. Unless West Virginia find a way to get their team back on track, there was no hope of even fighting for a conference title and that coveted BCS Bowl birth. Already there were words spoken of how soft the Big East was, as well as the ACC…some had mentioned the desire to leave out such teams if they cannot keep a team in the top 10...
(foolish words, most spoken by even smaller conferences who happened to have a team ranked high off very weak schedules….)
But West Virginia began to pull it together, beating Marshall (what happened to THAT team) and the third win of the year over struggling Rutgers. It would appear that their wins and losses corresponded to their away and home games. They lost to Colorado and ECU away, and all other games were at home. Perhaps that trend will continue…
Wins over Syracuse and Auburn (incidentally both teams ended up getting rid of their coaches) pulled the West Virginia record to 5-2. But they needed to validate this new direction of winning by beating a quality team…away from home.
That win came when they defeated Connecticut 35-13, as the Huskies were currently ranked at the time. This was a signature win, and at 6-2 the Mountaineers were flying high…
Until they lost to Cincinnati, at home, in overtime, 26-23.
West Virginia managed to split the next two away games, beating suffering Louisville and losing to ranked Pittsburgh, before ending the season with a win over South Florida, at home 13-7.
Of the four losses, the one to Colorado is not well tolerated, but losing to ECU (Conference USA Champs), Cincinnati (Big East Champs) and Pittsburgh, are very quality losses…if you have to lose. Six teams will be in a bowl off this schedule, and West Virginia beat half of them.
The Tarheels of UNC won’t have to travel so far to get to Charlotte, and come in bringing an impressive 8-4 record, although it seemed they choked down the stretch.
( I say this being a Tarheel fan…)
The ACC was perhaps the MOST complex conference in Division I. Many claim it was “soft” but that isn’t true, there were numerous great teams. I am not saying they are the best, because they are not, but from top to bottom, they had more to offer than any other conference.
UNC started out strong, beating McNeese State, although barely, and then got a surprising win vs. Rutgers on ESPN…BIG. A 44-12 beat down set the Big East back a few years with that embarrassing loss. So now things were looking good for UNC with Virginia Tech coming off an embarrassing loss to ECU, surely they can run the record to 3-0?
Nope. Back to earth with a 20-17 loss, although it was a great game.
Now 2-1, some thought this might be a good year for the Tarheels, and a big win AT Miami was the beginning of three straight wins. And at the moment, UNC had 2 conference wins, which is always good.
But it wasn’t until UNC knocked off UCONN while they were ranked that had people looking at Chapel Hill as a possible power in the ACC this year. And when they beat storied Notre Dame, there was some national attention placed on the Tarheels. No, this was not a BCS Championship team, but hey, a BCS Bowl??
It was expected that UNC would win at Virginia because the Cavaliers were having such a bad year… but that’s why you have to play every game. In over time UNC lost to Virginia 16-13, and brought the team back to earth again, and reminding them that they were not going to sweep the ACC schedule.
But this team was not about to fold the tents, there was a conference they could win, and they wanted it. Two great wins over Boston College and then ranked Georgia Tech had UNC the talk of the ACC with a 7-2 record, but both losses coming from their conference.
Already qualified for a bowl, perhaps the team got overconfident when they traveled to Maryland, and lost 17-15. But surely they would be able to beat lowly NC State, a team that needed to win all their remaining games just to qualify for a bowl…
But alas, the Wolfpack crushed UNC in their own house, 41-10. Something was going on with the mindset of the Tarheels, and it seemed that once they secured post season, they relaxed. This was NOT the way to finish a season, and they had to get it together against Duke…I mean, surely they can beat Duke..
Even at Duke this should have been an easier game, but UNC wins only by 8 points, and limps into post season against West Virginia.
NINE of the 12 teams on UNC’s schedule will be in a bowl, a very strong schedule. But is this team “burned out”? To be sure, they overachieved, and West Virginia may have underachieved; will we see the balance of that in this bowl game?
This is a very good game to watch, and I think West Virginia has an advantage, being a more veteran team with a great quarterback. But West Virginia has already tasted defeat in the state, and UNC is practically home…how will this play out…
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Please beware college footbal teams!
Teams in DANGER this weekend
I’ve been having a bit of fun with this, so I might as well do it again. This blog and a few like it, are my ways of just pointing out college games of great interest to the team in question. As the college football season continues to unfold, lots of things have floated up and sunk. This is my take on the teams and games that are extremely important for the entire season of that ball club.
So… let’s begin.
From the mountaintops I have called unto thee to listen to my voice, from even the valleys below I have begged for one ear to incline unto me, and yet, so few have taken heed. So again I make voice and beg for you to hear my words, and beware. There are many teams in college football that stare at their very demise of post season, or a winning season, or a chance at the BCS championship.
Why won’t they listen?
Take Duke Football (PLEASE). In their win over hapless Virginia in Durham, there was a play where one of the Duke players intercepted the football, ran and dove in the end zone. Two of the coaches on the Duke squad chewed this young man out, as if Duke football is USED to scoring. I criticized that because Duke isn’t that great to begin with, and the fans were just as excited as he was. I also pointed out the hypocrisy of what the NCAA tries to show, and what they actually do.
I told you that if Duke has a football game on the next week, I BET you that in the highlight package, they would show that very same dive by that Duke player…guess what…that is EXACTLY what they did.
So now it makes the Duke coaches and the NCAA look like hypocrites, as if Duke Football is used to scoring…well, we sure didn’t see any of that when they played Georgia Tech, did we. As Dennis Green once said, “they are who we THOUGHT they were!”
Duke Football. Hey, I warned you guys about that.
And the ACC has more warnings to take heed to. Thursday night has Clemson playing Wake Forest, in a game that Clemson needs like Al Davis needs a puppet coach. Both teams need to wake up (no pun intended) and start scrapping for that ACC Championship, because the BCS Championship is no longer in their reach…in fact, it never was, not with these two teams.
Clemson, at 3-2, need quality wins fast, because of those 3 wins, two of those don’t count (Citadel and South Carolina State). Can anybody see Clemson finishing 10-2...NOT. I’ll bank them 2 games, but that means they still need to win 3 more games to qualify for a bowl. It’s gonna be close folks, they might barely qualify for a bowl, but if they can’t beat division rival Wake Forest, it may be over for the Tigers.
And if so, what of Wake Forest? I just don’t see them running the tables in the ACC, they are not that good, and that loss to Navy really showed the underbelly of this team. You just can’t lose a game at home if you want to be in a BCS bowl. With home games against Clemson, Duke, Virginia, Boston College and Vanderbilt, this can give Wake Forest some high credibility in the polls. Can they win all 5? No, but a win against Clemson gets them on the road to hopefully cracking the top 10 if they are as good as they say they are.
Beware Louisville, many fear that the better days of the Cardinals have passed them by. Yet this team is hard to figure out. The last couple of years Louisville has started out like the favorites to win the Big East and possibly go undefeated on their way to a BCS Championship…then everything falls apart.
Take great care Louisville, that 2-2 record can get as high as 7 wins if you do what you are capable of doing, but games vs. South Florida, Pittsburgh and West Virginia could be tough matchups. You’re on pace to be guaranteed a bowl…but if you miss this game against Memphis…woe unto thee!
How the mighty have fallen Michigan…and yet, you still must be warned!
Instead of 2-3, your record should be 1-4 after Wisconsin stopped playing football and you realized that you could win that milestone game. So now you got a couple of wins under your belt and thought you were ready to make a run…until Illinois reminded you where you belong this year.
Before you can get to a bowl, you must win 6 games… that means you must win 4 more games. If the other Big 10 teams are as good as advertised, I don’t see you beating Penn State, Michigan State or Ohio State. And with away games at Purdue and Minnesota, this might be critical. This is a game you MUST have this weekend, playing Toledo in your house. Lose this, and your season is OVER.
Cautions go out to both teams of the Salvage Bowl…ECU and Virginia.
Two teams that had higher expectations must now salvage a season by trying to get to a bowl. ECU once drank champagne and caviar with the royalty of the top 25, now they are packing bologna sandwiches and drinking Kool-Aid. They need 3 more wins to qualify, and if they do, they will be picked up by a lower seeded bowl UNLESS they win the Conference USA title. It may be hard playing road games for the Pirates, and this will show when they travel to Virginia to play their third ACC team this year. National title hopes are long gone, as well as BCS bowl hopes, now they are hoping for the next best thing, which is a Liberty Bowl.
But Virginia needs this win BAD. If ECU is dining on bologna sandwiches and Kool-Aid, then Virginia has dined right next to them. This is NOT the Virginia team we are used to seeing, and losing to Duke is a very embarrassing slap in the face. But a shut out win over Maryland gives hope. Virginia isn’t going to a bowl this year because I cannot see them winning 5 out of 7 games. Not gonna happen, but they need to build confidence and salvage a season with a few more wins. ECU could deliver that…or break their backs.
Take heed South Carolina…your post season is on the line this weekend! A 4-2 record is nice, although one of those wins was against Wofford, so let’s call it 3-2 since we’re talking about winning 6 Division I games to qualify for a bowl. This means you need 3 more wins in the very tough SEC. You can split your final 6 games and still make it to a bowl, but that means you cannot afford to lose any more than 3 games. With LSU and Florida on the schedule, that won’t be easy at all. And with Tennessee and Clemson this could be a toss up. This means that the Arkansas game later this year and the Kentucky game this weekend could be the key games for your entire season. These are the games you gotta have.
And while I am at it, Kentucky must also be careful. A lot of people around the nation are saying of your football team those immortal words that Dennis Green said…
“They are who we THOUGHT they were”
When you lost to Alabama, but this was not such a disappointing loss. The jury is still out on how good you are, and this will be proven against South Carolina. But this will not be an easy road at all. Mississippi State and Arkansas MIGHT be your best chances for wins, which means you need to steal at least one more game from either South Carolina, Florida, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Tennessee…good luck with that.
And what of the Huskers? Who will warn them of the danger to come? Missouri dropped more points on Nebraska than Wall Street, and now here comes Texas Tech to continue the spanking. If ever there was a time to say that your program is back on the map, this is it. Sure, lots of people still think Texas Tech isn’t worth the top 10 billing, but that means if you beat them, you get the cred for crushing a top 10 team. I personally think your post season is in jeopardy, I think the Huskers are assured of at least 6 wins, maybe even 7, but that is based on a very soft schedule to start the season. But a win against #7 Texas Tech is a nice feather in your hat.
And finally, a red-light warning goes out to Notre Dame and UNC. I am very sure that the Irish are happy that UNC has a ranking number beside it, because it gives Notre Dame the idea that they are finally playing somebody other than the cupcakes they have been beating this year. Shame on this “football institution” for lowering their standards.
With Navy and Syracuse on the schedule, Notre Dame has virtually assured themselves of a bowl, but somehow they didn’t think that they’d have to actually PLAY UNC. I mean, the Tarheels are not a good football team, so this should have been an easy win…but this year might be a little different. And if they can beat UNC, there then would have to be some thought in Notre Dame being a top 25 team. The are, at this moment, possibly looking for a BCS bowl, but one more loss will crush those hopes…USC may end up doing that, but will they be 10-1 by then? Nah…not possible, right?
UNC has been smiling at the new life they have been given, and a pretty impressive 4-1 start. With a home game vs. Notre Dame, they have everything in place to make this a true battle. But are they REALLY top 25 caliber? A close win vs. McNeese State, a win over hapless Rutgers, a loss at home vs. Virginia Tech, a close and emotional win against Miami (where Butch Davis, current coach of UNC, used to coach), and a win over a UCONN team with key players out with broken bones.
I am a Tarheels fan…but this kinda looks suspect. The wins almost looked situational, but a win is a win. Now we will see if this team is REALLY good, or just visiting the top 25 like a vacationer to the beach.
We will learn so many things this weekend, won’t we?
Anyway, that’s some of the games of interest. I know there are bigger games, ones with National Championship implications on the line, I wanted to highlight some of these as well. Whoever your team is, I hope they win this weekend. Have fun!
I’ve been having a bit of fun with this, so I might as well do it again. This blog and a few like it, are my ways of just pointing out college games of great interest to the team in question. As the college football season continues to unfold, lots of things have floated up and sunk. This is my take on the teams and games that are extremely important for the entire season of that ball club.
So… let’s begin.
From the mountaintops I have called unto thee to listen to my voice, from even the valleys below I have begged for one ear to incline unto me, and yet, so few have taken heed. So again I make voice and beg for you to hear my words, and beware. There are many teams in college football that stare at their very demise of post season, or a winning season, or a chance at the BCS championship.
Why won’t they listen?
Take Duke Football (PLEASE). In their win over hapless Virginia in Durham, there was a play where one of the Duke players intercepted the football, ran and dove in the end zone. Two of the coaches on the Duke squad chewed this young man out, as if Duke football is USED to scoring. I criticized that because Duke isn’t that great to begin with, and the fans were just as excited as he was. I also pointed out the hypocrisy of what the NCAA tries to show, and what they actually do.
I told you that if Duke has a football game on the next week, I BET you that in the highlight package, they would show that very same dive by that Duke player…guess what…that is EXACTLY what they did.
So now it makes the Duke coaches and the NCAA look like hypocrites, as if Duke Football is used to scoring…well, we sure didn’t see any of that when they played Georgia Tech, did we. As Dennis Green once said, “they are who we THOUGHT they were!”
Duke Football. Hey, I warned you guys about that.
And the ACC has more warnings to take heed to. Thursday night has Clemson playing Wake Forest, in a game that Clemson needs like Al Davis needs a puppet coach. Both teams need to wake up (no pun intended) and start scrapping for that ACC Championship, because the BCS Championship is no longer in their reach…in fact, it never was, not with these two teams.
Clemson, at 3-2, need quality wins fast, because of those 3 wins, two of those don’t count (Citadel and South Carolina State). Can anybody see Clemson finishing 10-2...NOT. I’ll bank them 2 games, but that means they still need to win 3 more games to qualify for a bowl. It’s gonna be close folks, they might barely qualify for a bowl, but if they can’t beat division rival Wake Forest, it may be over for the Tigers.
And if so, what of Wake Forest? I just don’t see them running the tables in the ACC, they are not that good, and that loss to Navy really showed the underbelly of this team. You just can’t lose a game at home if you want to be in a BCS bowl. With home games against Clemson, Duke, Virginia, Boston College and Vanderbilt, this can give Wake Forest some high credibility in the polls. Can they win all 5? No, but a win against Clemson gets them on the road to hopefully cracking the top 10 if they are as good as they say they are.
Beware Louisville, many fear that the better days of the Cardinals have passed them by. Yet this team is hard to figure out. The last couple of years Louisville has started out like the favorites to win the Big East and possibly go undefeated on their way to a BCS Championship…then everything falls apart.
Take great care Louisville, that 2-2 record can get as high as 7 wins if you do what you are capable of doing, but games vs. South Florida, Pittsburgh and West Virginia could be tough matchups. You’re on pace to be guaranteed a bowl…but if you miss this game against Memphis…woe unto thee!
How the mighty have fallen Michigan…and yet, you still must be warned!
Instead of 2-3, your record should be 1-4 after Wisconsin stopped playing football and you realized that you could win that milestone game. So now you got a couple of wins under your belt and thought you were ready to make a run…until Illinois reminded you where you belong this year.
Before you can get to a bowl, you must win 6 games… that means you must win 4 more games. If the other Big 10 teams are as good as advertised, I don’t see you beating Penn State, Michigan State or Ohio State. And with away games at Purdue and Minnesota, this might be critical. This is a game you MUST have this weekend, playing Toledo in your house. Lose this, and your season is OVER.
Cautions go out to both teams of the Salvage Bowl…ECU and Virginia.
Two teams that had higher expectations must now salvage a season by trying to get to a bowl. ECU once drank champagne and caviar with the royalty of the top 25, now they are packing bologna sandwiches and drinking Kool-Aid. They need 3 more wins to qualify, and if they do, they will be picked up by a lower seeded bowl UNLESS they win the Conference USA title. It may be hard playing road games for the Pirates, and this will show when they travel to Virginia to play their third ACC team this year. National title hopes are long gone, as well as BCS bowl hopes, now they are hoping for the next best thing, which is a Liberty Bowl.
But Virginia needs this win BAD. If ECU is dining on bologna sandwiches and Kool-Aid, then Virginia has dined right next to them. This is NOT the Virginia team we are used to seeing, and losing to Duke is a very embarrassing slap in the face. But a shut out win over Maryland gives hope. Virginia isn’t going to a bowl this year because I cannot see them winning 5 out of 7 games. Not gonna happen, but they need to build confidence and salvage a season with a few more wins. ECU could deliver that…or break their backs.
Take heed South Carolina…your post season is on the line this weekend! A 4-2 record is nice, although one of those wins was against Wofford, so let’s call it 3-2 since we’re talking about winning 6 Division I games to qualify for a bowl. This means you need 3 more wins in the very tough SEC. You can split your final 6 games and still make it to a bowl, but that means you cannot afford to lose any more than 3 games. With LSU and Florida on the schedule, that won’t be easy at all. And with Tennessee and Clemson this could be a toss up. This means that the Arkansas game later this year and the Kentucky game this weekend could be the key games for your entire season. These are the games you gotta have.
And while I am at it, Kentucky must also be careful. A lot of people around the nation are saying of your football team those immortal words that Dennis Green said…
“They are who we THOUGHT they were”
When you lost to Alabama, but this was not such a disappointing loss. The jury is still out on how good you are, and this will be proven against South Carolina. But this will not be an easy road at all. Mississippi State and Arkansas MIGHT be your best chances for wins, which means you need to steal at least one more game from either South Carolina, Florida, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Tennessee…good luck with that.
And what of the Huskers? Who will warn them of the danger to come? Missouri dropped more points on Nebraska than Wall Street, and now here comes Texas Tech to continue the spanking. If ever there was a time to say that your program is back on the map, this is it. Sure, lots of people still think Texas Tech isn’t worth the top 10 billing, but that means if you beat them, you get the cred for crushing a top 10 team. I personally think your post season is in jeopardy, I think the Huskers are assured of at least 6 wins, maybe even 7, but that is based on a very soft schedule to start the season. But a win against #7 Texas Tech is a nice feather in your hat.
And finally, a red-light warning goes out to Notre Dame and UNC. I am very sure that the Irish are happy that UNC has a ranking number beside it, because it gives Notre Dame the idea that they are finally playing somebody other than the cupcakes they have been beating this year. Shame on this “football institution” for lowering their standards.
With Navy and Syracuse on the schedule, Notre Dame has virtually assured themselves of a bowl, but somehow they didn’t think that they’d have to actually PLAY UNC. I mean, the Tarheels are not a good football team, so this should have been an easy win…but this year might be a little different. And if they can beat UNC, there then would have to be some thought in Notre Dame being a top 25 team. The are, at this moment, possibly looking for a BCS bowl, but one more loss will crush those hopes…USC may end up doing that, but will they be 10-1 by then? Nah…not possible, right?
UNC has been smiling at the new life they have been given, and a pretty impressive 4-1 start. With a home game vs. Notre Dame, they have everything in place to make this a true battle. But are they REALLY top 25 caliber? A close win vs. McNeese State, a win over hapless Rutgers, a loss at home vs. Virginia Tech, a close and emotional win against Miami (where Butch Davis, current coach of UNC, used to coach), and a win over a UCONN team with key players out with broken bones.
I am a Tarheels fan…but this kinda looks suspect. The wins almost looked situational, but a win is a win. Now we will see if this team is REALLY good, or just visiting the top 25 like a vacationer to the beach.
We will learn so many things this weekend, won’t we?
Anyway, that’s some of the games of interest. I know there are bigger games, ones with National Championship implications on the line, I wanted to highlight some of these as well. Whoever your team is, I hope they win this weekend. Have fun!
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